Resort Thread Disney's ALL-STAR MUSIC Resort

[jcarwash]

Can you get coffee any where?

Yes, the food setup in the Note'able Arcade includes coffee.

 

[pixarmom]

Quick report! I stayed at ASMu for three nights August 10-13 on my own with our boys for a quick budget trip to WDW. We have APs and $67 per night was just too good of a deal to pass up! So I know the circumstances may impact my review - traveling on my own with the kids, TONS of time spent in the parks, quick trip sandwiched in between other WDW trips (BWI in February, Poly in March, split between AKL/GF/BWI coming up in January.) We usually stay deluxe, mostly club level. I haven't stayed value in 20 years, and my kids never have, so I wasn't sure what to expect at ASMu.

I'm so happy to report that ASMu absolutely exceeded all my expectations. We loved it and would not hesitate to return for another quick budget trip. Compared to Movies and Sports, we definitely prefer the grounds at ASMu - so much greenery and landscaping - especially the courtyard outside the Jazz area with the fountain. CMs were consistently friendly, and we really enjoyed our stay. Sure, it's different from our recent trips, but we loved it every bit as much.

Dining. We don't really use the resort food courts or counter service, other than for breakfast, and between the temporary Music set-up and the Movies food court, all was well. The breakfast at Movies was better than we would have expected - including the egg white omelette our 15-year-old ordered one morning.

Bus Service. Bus service was consistently outstanding. Only wait was one night after Epcot closing, but that was to be expected. Our fellow guests waiting in line were all very friendly and pleasant, so the time went quickly. Otherwise, I don't recall waiting more than a few minutes for a bus. I know it's the luck of the draw, but we were lucky this time.

Room. Our room was clean and I love that all the resorts have new triple sheeting now. Really gave the room a fresh, clean look. I appreciated a few other things, like the large window, quiet air conditioning, and well-placed hooks outside the bathroom area. I think the room feels a little bigger than it appears in the photos, particularly with the new bedding.

We requested and received a room in the Broadway section, which worked out very well for us. Quiet area, nice walk back to the room at the end of the day, and relatively convenient to cross the parking lot to Movies. I had read that Broadway would be far away from the lobby, but it's all relative. I'm a runner and our kids are quite active in different ways, and we all commented on how close Broadway was to the lobby.

Pool. Our youngest was in love with the Calypso pool. Not the most relaxing pool atmosphere ever, but he was obsessed with the 3 Caballeros feature and that was worth it to me! Once, he asked about the absence of a slide, but got over that immediately. The pool does show a bit of age, but for little ones, that doesn't seem to matter much. We noticed it was packed at night, but in the afternoon it was quite uncrowded.

Mod v. Value. I may have missed a few details, but we loved it. We've concluded that for us, it's either deluxe CL or value. I know that sounds funny, but different resorts fit different trips for our family. We've stayed in all the mods except the cabins, and we agreed that the difference between value (at least ASMu) and the mods isn't enough to justify the cost.

Happy to answer any questions for those planning ASMu stays!

 

[glennsgirl762]

Sorry problem with post

 

[glennsgirl762]

Quick report! I stayed at ASMu for three nights August 10-13 on my own with our boys for a quick budget trip to WDW. We have APs and $67 per night was just too good of a deal to pass up! So I know the circumstances may impact my review - traveling on my own with the kids, TONS of time spent in the parks, quick trip sandwiched in between other WDW trips (BWI in February, Poly in March, split between AKL/GF/BWI coming up in January.) We usually stay deluxe, mostly club level. I haven't stayed value in 20 years, and my kids never have, so I wasn't sure what to expect at ASMu.

I'm so happy to report that ASMu absolutely exceeded all my expectations. We loved it and would not hesitate to return for another quick budget trip. Compared to Movies and Sports, we definitely prefer the grounds at ASMu - so much greenery and landscaping - especially the courtyard outside the Jazz area with the fountain. CMs were consistently friendly, and we really enjoyed our stay. Sure, it's different from our recent trips, but we loved it every bit as much.

Dining. We don't really use the resort food courts or counter service, other than for breakfast, and between the temporary Music set-up and the Movies food court, all was well. The breakfast at Movies was better than we would have expected - including the egg white omelette our 15-year-old ordered one morning.

Bus Service. Bus service was consistently outstanding. Only wait was one night after Epcot closing, but that was to be expected. Our fellow guests waiting in line were all very friendly and pleasant, so the time went quickly. Otherwise, I don't recall waiting more than a few minutes for a bus. I know it's the luck of the draw, but we were lucky this time.

Room. Our room was clean and I love that all the resorts have new triple sheeting now. Really gave the room a fresh, clean look. I appreciated a few other things, like the large window, quiet air conditioning, and well-placed hooks outside the bathroom area. I think the room feels a little bigger than it appears in the photos, particularly with the new bedding.

We requested and received a room in the Broadway section, which worked out very well for us. Quiet area, nice walk back to the room at the end of the day, and relatively convenient to cross the parking lot to Movies. I had read that Broadway would be far away from the lobby, but it's all relative. I'm a runner and our kids are quite active in different ways, and we all commented on how close Broadway was to the lobby.

Pool. Our youngest was in love with the Calypso pool. Not the most relaxing pool atmosphere ever, but he was obsessed with the 3 Caballeros feature and that was worth it to me! Once, he asked about the absence of a slide, but got over that immediately. The pool does show a bit of age, but for little ones, that doesn't seem to matter much. We noticed it was packed at night, but in the afternoon it was quite uncrowded.

Mod v. Value. I may have missed a few details, but we loved it. We've concluded that for us, it's either deluxe CL or value. I know that sounds funny, but different resorts fit different trips for our family. We've stayed in all the mods except the cabins, and we agreed that the difference between value (at least ASMu) and the mods isn't enough to justify the cost.

Happy to answer any questions for those planning ASMu stays!

Same here Pixarmom, we never stayed at a value resort until this past May just DH and I for the first time without our kids. We had a blast we loved ASMu and are returning again next May. We stayed in broadway section it was the perfect location for us. DH and will celebrating our anniversary there. Glad you had a great stay!

 

[EvilQueenLiz]

I stayed in a Family Suite, third floor, in Calypso Building 10. There were a few things wrong with the room (why are the bathroom fans so damn loud!?) but in general I loved having two bathrooms and a separate room to escape to! The kids loved the pool and we even went over to the Fantasia pool one day. My kids loved the activities at the pools and the lack of a regular cafeteria wasn't a huge deal to us at all. The temporary locations were acceptable. FYI...they have coffee at the pool bar in the morning.

My only complaint to Disney: WHY do you not cover the value resort bus stops? I just don't understand the point of frying your guests to a crisp because they pay less for a room.

 

[mmeb144]

My only complaint to Disney: WHY do you not cover the value resort bus stops? I just don't understand the point of frying your guests to a crisp because they pay less for a room.

Amen to that. We would hang back by the building and wait in the shade until the bus pulled up. I felt kinda sorry for the bus drivers. It looked like a gang rushing for the buses. No one wants to get fried ahead of time.

 

[zipuzee]

FYI...they have coffee at the pool bar in the morning.

Nice to know they have coffee at the pool bar!!

 

[jcarwash]

My only complaint to Disney: WHY do you not cover the value resort bus stops? I just don't understand the point of frying your guests to a crisp because they pay less for a room.

FWIW, Art of Animation has covering for all (or most) of the bus stops, so somewhere along the line they realized it was a good idea. Maybe someday Pop Century and the All-Stars will be retrofitted.

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Anyone know how much milk you can fit in the fridges? Can you fit a full gallon? What about 2 half gallons? Thanks in advance if anyone knows!

 

[Heidi K]

Anyone know how much milk you can fit in the fridges? Can you fit a full gallon? What about 2 half gallons? Thanks in advance if anyone knows!

We easily fit the half gallon & could probably fit a full gallon. However, we had a suite--not sure if the fridges are different sizes in the regular rooms?

 

[EvilQueenLiz]

FWIW, Art of Animation has covering for all (or most) of the bus stops, so somewhere along the line they realized it was a good idea. Maybe someday Pop Century and the All-Stars will be retrofitted.

Glad to hear! I'm booked there for April!

 

[Triton]

Anyone know if the food court reopening date is firm, or if it might slip one way or the other depending on the construction progress?

 

[jcarwash]

Anyone know if the food court reopening date is firm, or if it might slip one way or the other depending on the construction progress?

Last December's All-Star Sports reopening was pretty much spot-on schedule by December 20, 2013, and they are listing December 20, 2014 for Music, so I'd expect they'd be right on track for that.

 

[dissybroad]

PirateD, we tried the family suite. Will be booking two rooms for a family with three kids. We also splurge for preferred rooms so we can be in Calypso.

Was there last week and the food truck was parked next to the Spirits bar.

 

[PirateD]

PirateD, we tried the family suite. Will be booking two rooms for a family with three kids. We also splurge for preferred rooms so we can be in Calypso.

Was there last week and the food truck was parked next to the Spirits bar.

Thanks, dissybroad. I'm interested to hear more about what you thought about the two options..

I think booking preferred would be a great option especially for my parents, however, the extra cost is not appealing for some in my group. We will have to look at the numbers again and see how much of a difference in cost it is.

So glad to hear the good reports from EvilQueenLiz, glennsgirl762, and pixarmom. We were looking at some other resort options but keep coming back to ASMu. Hearing all of your reports definitely makes me excited about staying there!

 

[MommytoaPrince]

Can anyone give me any info about the food court renovations? We booked a stay for the first week of October at Music a couple of months ago and just now ran across an article about the food court being closed. We were never given this info at time of booking or the many calls that I have made since then. I sent Disney an email asking several questions over a week ago and have not heard anything back from them.

My biggest concern is that we have a child with severe food allergies and are wanting to find out if the temporary options they have in place will be able to accommodate him. Also, what food options are available? Hot and cold options? I know that you can take a bus to other resorts but this just does not sound like a pleasant experience to us and the way our family likes to do a vacation at Disney.

I am so disappointed that Disney did not provide this info to us at time of booking so that we could make the best possible decision for our family. I totally understand that they must make renovations and I am not upset about that I am just disappointed that we were not given this info so that we could have chosen another resort.

 

[Volkswagenphreak]

Can anyone give me any info about the food court renovations? We booked a stay for the first week of October at Music a couple of months ago and just now ran across an article about the food court being closed. We were never given this info at time of booking or the many calls that I have made since then. I sent Disney an email asking several questions over a week ago and have not heard anything back from them. My biggest concern is that we have a child with severe food allergies and are wanting to find out if the temporary options they have in place will be able to accommodate him. Also, what food options are available? Hot and cold options? I know that you can take a bus to other resorts but this just does not sound like a pleasant experience to us and the way our family likes to do a vacation at Disney. I am so disappointed that Disney did not provide this info to us at time of booking so that we could make the best possible decision for our family. I totally understand that they must make renovations and I am not upset about that I am just disappointed that we were not given this info so that we could have chosen another resort.

if you read back a few pages you'll get these answers

 

[wildcatfan]

Can anyone give me any info about the food court renovations? We booked a stay for the first week of October at Music a couple of months ago and just now ran across an article about the food court being closed. We were never given this info at time of booking or the many calls that I have made since then. I sent Disney an email asking several questions over a week ago and have not heard anything back from them. My biggest concern is that we have a child with severe food allergies and are wanting to find out if the temporary options they have in place will be able to accommodate him. Also, what food options are available? Hot and cold options? I know that you can take a bus to other resorts but this just does not sound like a pleasant experience to us and the way our family likes to do a vacation at Disney. I am so disappointed that Disney did not provide this info to us at time of booking so that we could make the best possible decision for our family. I totally understand that they must make renovations and I am not upset about that I am just disappointed that we were not given this info so that we could have chosen another resort.

We also booked the first week of October. We received a letter about a month ago explaining the food court situation. I am surprised that you did not get a letter. I assumed they sent them to all guest.

 

[MacDalt]

We also booked the first week of October. We received a letter about a month ago explaining the food court situation. I am surprised that you did not get a letter. I assumed they sent them to all guest.

There is an alert on the website when you click on ASMu. It's been there for months.

 

[texasroni75]

Just back from our week-long stay at All-Star Music (9/13-9/19), and wanted to post an overview of our experience at the resort. Parks reviews in trip report elsewhere.

Resort Pros: Rooms very clean, mousekeeping very good (they decorated the rooms with our souvenirs daily, and made us towel animals twice), the grounds were very clean, and our request for more towels was fulfilled within 30 minutes! We found the updated linens nice too. Most staff was very helpful and knowledgeable (check in glitch mentioned below under cons). The food court was being refurbished but the grab-n-go staff and food offerings were good. The shuttles to the other All-Star food courts came quickly and had especially friendly drivers.
Magic Bands worked effortlessly as a room key and for meals, both with the dining plan credits and for charging things back to the room.

Resort Cons: Inability to make good use of our refillable mugs. Since our room was at the VERY back of the resort (Country section), it was extremely inconvenient to use our refillable mugs. We'd have to take the shuttle back to Music after breakfast and then trek all the way back to our room to drop off the mugs and walk back again to the front of the resort for buses to the parks in the morning. So, every resort breakfast meant we had to either lug the mugs around with us all day at the parks, or get up 25 minutes earlier to account for the extra shuttle and walking time. We used our mugs maybe 3 times the entire trip and only at night. It felt like a huge waste.

Front-desk snafu - Due to flight changes, we arrived at 2am the day of check-in. I understood we would not have a room ready yet and that nothing could be done prior to 6am with our bands, etc. But we went to the front desk anyway to ask some other questions since there was no line, and we had the time. The front-desk person told us to give him our information anyway, so we did. Not only did he keep putting our information in the computer incorrectly several times (we have a very easy common last name consisting of FOUR letters - but I digress) - but he then told us what we already told him we knew and we repeated back to him that we DID understand that we could NOT officially check in yet. Basically we went in circles with him until he finally understood we just want to ask a few questions and we would then sit quietly in the lobby with our bags until 6am to check in. Surely other people have arrived at a weird time before...?! Anyway it was just frustrating trying to get him to understand that we were not trying to get a room earlier than we were allowed to. Bleh.

Buses: The buses to and from the parks were the slowest and most crowded compared to ALL of our previous trips. During this stay, we never once had a wait less than 15 minutes. And we only got to sit twice because they were so crowded by the time a bus finally showed up. Not a deal-breaker and didn't spoil the trip, but just wasn't good - especially since this is slower season, it shouldn't have been like it was. Also, I understand the need for standing riders to move as far back as possible to make room for as many guests as possible, but the drivers seemed particularly "bark-y" during this stay, yelling at us all to move even closer and closer to one another. I'm sorry but I'm not pressing my body up against a stranger, or putting my rear in a sitting passenger's face. Don't yell at me because I am standing after giving my seat up for a mother and her baby, but I have left an entire INCH between me and another passenger! Not to mention one driver squashed a young boy walking through the back double bus doors to join his family member who had boarded with a scooter!! Literally closed on him, causing him to yelp. And no apology from the driver either. He shook his head and blamed the family.

RESORT STAY RECAP
Despite my long CONS explanations, overall the resort was a good value, clean and nice. I would stay there again, but would definitely request a closer room next time Due to our growing family, though, we will most likely need to stay in a Moderate going forward. We still love Disney and I'm already looking forward to planning our 9th trip!